Almost from Day One, the story of our national capital has sparked everything from violent controversy to ardent praise. Track the history of the city from its pastoral beginnings to the city of today. Undoubtedly one of the world’s most distinctive and memorable urban environments and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful national capitals in the world. It might be beautiful, but is it an appropriate model for a modern city in an era where ‘sustainability’ is seen as the only way to go? This course will examine the principles which underpinned Walter Burley Griffin’s great prize-winning plan of 1911, and attempt an evaluation of those principles in the light of today’s planning standards and ideals.

SUGGESTED READING

Overall, J. 1995, Canberra – yesterday, today and tomorrow

Stretton, Hugh, 1989, Ideas for Australian Cities

National Capital Planning Authority, 2004, The Griffin Legacy

COURSE OUTLINEWeek 1 – Introduction, Course Overview and Powerpoint: When Governor Phillip stepped ashore in Sydney Cove in 1788 there was absolutely no thought given to whether or not this new convict settlement would somehow be the birth of a nation and that in due course that nation would need a capital. Yet within a century of the landing, there was great debate within the “Australian” community on that very question. We will look at some of the events which generated that debate and which led to federation of the colonies and the decision to establish a capital for this “new” nation.Week 2 – Federation and the move to establish a capital gains momentum: There is general agreement on the need but bitter debate as to the choice of site; finally, reason prevails and the search for a site somewhere between Sydney and Melbourne leads to the choice of “Canberra” as we know it today. But what will this new city look like? Who will design it? Who will build it? And who will live there? The new national government makes a crucially important decision: we will hold an international competition to find the world’s best city planner.Week 3 – The competition for the new capital: Preparing the brief and organising the logistics – promotion, choosing the judges, assessing the entries, selecting a winner – the winning scheme (an inspired choice); arranging for the winner to start workWeek 4 – Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin arrive in Australia from Chicago: Who were these Griffins? Where did they come from? What did they do for a living? What prompted them to enter the competition? Who were they competing against? At an international level, what were the prevailing ideas about city planning at the time? Who were their ‘heroes’ ? Howard, l’Enfant, Chicago, Burnham, Adelaide, Washington; the reality sinks in; how are they going to translate their vision into reality in this vast empty cow paddock? Who will they be working with? Who is in charge? What will be their responsibilities?Week 5 – Work commences on site: Early days – Griffin, politics, bureaucracy, design details are developed, roads and buildings – the first Parliament House, slow down during the 30s – the Griffins move on – Melbourne, Sydney, Castlecrag, India – WWII interrupts progress; Menzies era - 1958 – big names – Holford, Overall – the NCDC is created – Canberra and the Liverpool connection – the lake – other early projects – ANU – Winston – The Nat Cap Planning Committee High Court – Nat Gallery – new Parliament; the city grows – the Y plan – new towns – subdivision design – open space – roads – Whitlam era – Uren – NCDC in consultant role, then disbanded – Self-government arrives in the ACT, along with the dilemma of having 2 planning agencies in one cityWeek 6 – Today: What has happened to the Griffin dream? An overview of the city today – summing up and conclusion

PLANNED LEARNING OUTCOMESBy the end of this course, students should be able to:

Know how and why Australia’s capital city was created and buil;

Understand the extraordinary contribution which Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffion made through their design for the capital;

Understand the challenges facing today’s capital city planners in an age where sustainability and urban growth must somehow be reconciled.